The new E-Trikes, which run on an electric motor and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, will be introduced to Metro Manila and other urban centers across the Philippines under a lease-to-own arrangement. Replacing 100,000 gasoline-powered trikes will enable the Philippine government to save more than $100 million a year in avoided fuel imports, while decreasing annual CO₂ emissions by about 260,000 tons.

In line with the government’s plan to develop a national e-vehicle industry, the project will support the establishment of an e-vehicle parts industry, battery supply chain, and charging stations, including five off-grid solar charging stations.

Without intervention, the Philippines is on a course to almost quadruple CO₂ emissions in less than 25 years, the ADB said. Based on an ADB study, gasoline-fueled tricycles are responsible for more than two-thirds of all air pollution generated by the country’s entire transport sector.

In addition to its $300 million loan, ADB is also administering another $105 million loan and grant from the Clean Technology Fund for other Philippine environmental-focused projects. The Government of the Philippines is providing $99 million counterpart funding for the project. The project will run for five years, with an estimated completion date of December 2017.

$300M to India’s Chhattisgarh State for major road upgrades. Separately, ADB announced it will provide $300 million to overhaul more than 900 kilometers (559 miles) of roads in India’s Chhattisgarh state.

More than 40% of Chhattisgarh’s 21 million residents live below the poverty line. Low quality roads are undermining the benefits of the state’s rich mineral and coal deposits, holding back new economic opportunities and access to social amenities, especially for minority groups.

—Juan Miranda, Director General of ADB’s South Asia Department

Road works will include expanding roads to two lanes, building new sections, and constructing and strengthening culverts and bridges. The project supports Chhattisgarh’s priority investment program to improve more than 8,800 km (5,468 miles) of state roads. Once the project is completed in December 2017, ADB will have financed upgrades to nearly 2,200 km (1,367 miles) of the network.

Chhattisgarh is rich in timber and minerals, including coal, iron ore, tin, limestone and bauxite, but is one of the country’s poorest states, with one of the lowest standards of living. About 80% of its residents live outside of cities and rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

Roads account for the vast bulk of passenger and freight transport in India, but a boom in traffic levels over the past decade has left them struggling to cope. Secondary roads carry about 40% of traffic, but around half of them are in poor condition. Chhattisgarh, in central India, has about 36,000 kilometers (22,369 miles) of roads, but about 80% of the total network is considered rough, with some sections impassable in the monsoon season.

Technical assistance grants of $1 million from ADB and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) will help improve Chhattisgarh’s road maintenance management capabilities. Along with ADB’s loan from its ordinary capital resources, the Government of Chhattisgarh will provide more than $128 million, for a total project investment cost of $428.1 million.